The Stones of Fate Saga: The Lonely Child
by Cosmic Jester
Summary: A girl moves back to Japan and makes some famous friends! But does she have her own secrets? [It's better than it sounds! Formerly named Dear Diary. Rated R for a reason! Read Chapter 1's Disclaimer!]
1. Stranger

**The Stones of Fate**  
A Yu-Gi-Oh! Fanfiction Series by Cosmic Jester   
**Dear Diary Saga   
Story One: The Lonely Child **  
  
  
Notice! The previous posting of this was highly censored do to its dark nature. I decided not to give a crap about what the genki fangirls think and write MY story MY way. This story is going to be dark and depressing in many, repeat MANY places, but light and humorous in others.   
  
This story will contain a teacher having lustful and carnal thoughts for a pupil, a young girl going completely insane and trying to commit suicide, and Yami-sama's style of poetic justice from the manga. If these and other dark subject don't appeal to you please return to the Yu-Gi-Oh! directory and move on.   
  
In short, this story is rated R for a reason. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.   
  
Despite my fondest wishes Yu-Gi-Oh! does not belong to me.   
  
Babbit: *pops out of nowhere above her right shoulder, flapping his purple wings* That's right! If it did, Seto's hair would have stayed green and Jonouchi would wear lots of tight leather.   
  
... Ignore the bat-rabbit-figment-of-my-imagination-type-creature. Ahem. Matsura Sumiko is an original character based on a Japanese foreign echange student. She is NOT a Mary Sue.   
  
Babbit: That's right! If Jester-chan met her idol she wouldn't just brush it off like Sumiko-san. She'd completely freak out and make an idiot of herself!   
  
*fwaps him with a red mallet with a loud *THNK!* sound* Quiet, you. That only happened once. At any rate, only Sumiko and the storyline belong to me. Please read, enjoy, and review it even if you didn't enjoy it.   
  
  
**Chapter One: Stranger**  
  
  
** My Computer | My Documents | public | myjournal.doc **  
  
September 14, 2003 10:23 pm  
Dear Diary,   
I just arrived in Japan yesterday. Gram met me at the airport, waving that fan of hers with the blue dragonflies. It was good to see her so happy and healthy... I keep remembering her in the hospital nine months ago, and then during Mom and Pop's wake... Okay, I'm going to stop right there. Sue told me not to dwell on negative thoughts.   
Gram and I had a nice talk while driving to her house at the edge of town. It's a nice white house with three bedrooms and a major luxury in any city--a yard. Gramps made a small seiwa-en out of it with high, ivy-covered stone fences. There's a small koi pond, it's a bit algae-filled now, but I'll get it straightened out soon enough.   
My babies took the move pretty well. Narcissi, Alexander, and Caesar all have most of their color back in their fins, and none of my hermit crabs have lost any limbs. Most of my stuff is already here in boxes, and the rest is coming day after tomorrow.   
I got in to one of the higher-regarded high schools around, and I even tested into my grade level, class B. ^_^   
Senko isn't exactly happy about my having to move, but it's not like I had a choice in the matter. Besides, once she really gets to know Gram I'm sure she'll come around.   
I think this is a big enough entry for tonight, considering how early I have to get up tomorrow.   
Oyasumi nasai.  
~S~   
  
**File | Save  
File | Exit  
My Documents | View | Folder Options  
\View\Files and Folders\Hidden Files | [o] Show all files | OK  
My Documents | private | private.zip  
Password: *********  
\privatejournal.doc  
Password: *****  
**   
September 14, 2003 10:46 pm  
Dear Diary,   
I rode in an "airplane" today. It's frickin' unnerving having all that air underneath you. She told me all about how it works, so I wasn't too scared, though I really really really did not want to move. Shit. I'd hardly begun to understand one school and now I have to learn all about another? Fuck that! There's no way in Hell I'm going to be able to be happy here. Until I meet a hot Japanese guy at school, of course. I'd better, or I'll never get outta the house!   
I don't want to seem boy-crazy. Fact of the matter is I'm really not. I just want to get out and experience life, preferably on another's dime. Or yen, I suppose. It's better than staring at a computer screen for hours with internet projects and video games, burning my retinas off. I don't see the attraction of sitting around all day doing mindless tasks. ...but then again, her parents did just die. It's doubtful she wants to think about anything.   
There's nothing really more for me to talk about now, so I'm gonna go to bed.   
Night,   
~S~   
  
** File | Exit  
Update .zip file? [Yes]   
My Documents | View | Restore Defaults | OK | X  
Start | Shut Down | OK  
**   
  
With a yawn Sumiko pushed the power button on her lap-top's monitor, eyes the color of golden jade watching as slender fingers carefully closed the unit and moved it aside onto her nightstand. She picked up the novel laying beside her that she had brought to read while on the plane to Japan and nestled the book deep in the back of the drawer, which was shut before the orphan flopped onto her back, gazing up at the ceiling that had enchanted her as a child. It was painted blue with clouds to resemble the sky. The paint faded down the walls until the bottom three feet, which were white with accents to give the illusion one was on a raft in the sky made from a cloud.   
It had been one of Grandmother's flights of fancy. Since the sky and clouds fascinated the old woman's only granddaughter that was the theme chosen for the room that would be hers during her summer visits to Japan. She and her husband had painted every last brush stroke themselves.   
Yellow-green eyes shimmered with unfallen tears as the teenaged girl reached to touch the wall with her fingertips. She'd memorized every cloud, every ray of light her grandparents had given her. The soft pads of her fingers ran over the familiar swirl patterns. Surrounded by this silent evidence of love she felt safe and comforted; the paint was like an all-encompassing bear hug.   
As she drew her hand back and reached for the string on her nightstand's lamp she felt the familiar burning on her forearm and gave a startled gasp. Reflexively she brought the bandage wrapped around her wrist to inspect it for fresh blood. The pain reminded her of the day the wound had been cut. She could still feel her dagger's weight in her right hand, the feel of the blade cutting into her own flesh, and the pain that flooded her senses until the pretty red stream flowing down her arm washed it away and she lay down to die...   
After finding no evidence that her self-inflicted injury had reopened she reached out once more, slower, calmly clasped the small, bell-shaped piece of brass dangling at the end of the cord and gave it a single pull.   
Now bathed in darkness save the tiny bit of light a streetlight managed to sneak past her blinds' defenses she stood and tugged the bedspread off her bed, catching a dark brown teddy bear before it fell. After turning down the blanket and sheet the raven-haired girl settled her weary, shapely form between them and nestled the fuzzy stuffed animal against her chest. Hugging it tightly as tears slowly began to fall; she closed her eyes and whispered softly to it.   
"Goodnight, Harry."   
~ % ~  
  
"Have you heard about the new kid coming to class today?"   
"Yeah, I heard he killed his parents!"   
"No way, they wouldn't let a murderer into Domino High."   
Anzu paused in reading her math book, ignoring Honda and Jonouchi behind her who were talking about the latest issue of some girlie mag while Yugi was listening in, blushing and pretending not to hear them as he fussed with his Duel Monster's deck. She didn't approve of gossip since it only served to spread tall tales, but there was usually at least some shred of truth behind each rumor. The three girls huddled around the desk in front of her ignored her, as usual, but that was fine.   
It made for better listening.   
"My mother said that he just moved here from America." The tallest with hair cut in a boyishly short style was apparently the best informed of the trio.   
A disapproving squeal came from her pigtailed friend. "A gaijin?"   
"Maybe not," said the third girl with long, bone-straight locks. "My mother told me that he's the grandkid of Matsura Hachibei."   
Anzu tuned the girls out; their nasal "cute" voices were beginning to irritate her. 'Matsura Hachibei. He was that inventor that died under suspicious circumstances, wasn't he?' Thoughtful, she rested her chin against her palm, using her arm as a prop against her desk.   
"Daijoubu ka, Anzu?"   
Shaken out of her reverie by a familiar gentle voice she turned to smile at the boy who was standing beside her. His worried, innocent eyes were almost at the same level as her own, and she was sitting down. "Daijoubu, Yugi." A hand reached out to playfully ruff the teen boy's unnaturally spiky tri-colored hair. His face screwed into an expression so comical she burst into giggles as he squirmed to escape.   
"You hear about the new student?"   
"Yes, I just did." She discretely glanced at the trio of girls who were still chatting away, speculating on what horrible person they would get as a new classmate to show him how she'd gotten her information.   
Yugi rolled his eyes at what reliable sources she had. He grasped the pyramid-shaped puzzle in his hands and there was a pause as the duelist squirmed inwardly, trying to work up his nerve on his own without his 'inner self' helping. "Uh, Anzu? I was wondering..."   
"Oi, Yugi!"   
Yugi jumped, startled, and then turned to smile up at his two male friends, leaving Anzu wondering what he was talking about. "What's up, Jou?"   
The blonde grinned. "Any ideas on what the new kid'll be like?"   
Yugi frowned thoughtfully and reached both hands behind his crown of tri-colored hair. "I don't know," he admitted. "I hope they're nice, though. And play Duel Monsters."   
The spirit in the puzzle sent a thought to Yugi, which he relayed to the rest of them. 'I agree. We haven't had a new challenger in far too long.'   
"Is dueling all you two think about?" Honda shook his head in disbelief.   
Amethyst eyes sparkled as Yugi showed his most enthusiastic grin. "Maybe!"   
The small group's chuckles were interrupted by their teacher's arrival. "Settle down," Mr. Tanaka declaimed as he set his briefcase on the desk in front. "Please take your seats!"   
Class B quieted much faster than normal.   
He nodded. "Good, good." He cleared his throat and smiled at his pupils. "As I'm certain you have all heard by now we have a new student today. Due to family circumstances they've come from America to live with their grandmother and have enrolled in our fine school." He gestured to the open door. "Come in now, please."   
The entire class leaned in expectantly, not knowing what kind of punk, delinquent or gang-member was going to walk into their classroom, and most of them clearly expected the worst. With baited breath they were silent as quiet footsteps approached, the gossipers squirming nervously. There was a pause as if the student was nerving themself, then stepped in.   
Part of her long, silky black hair was pulled away from her lovely face and tied with a cheerful crimson and red bow that set off her unusual gold-green eyes. The length of her hair trailed down her back to her dainty waist. Her uniform was flawlessly pressed and the uniform knee-high baggy socks were tucked into modest loafers. The slender fingers of her right hand clasped a messenger style schoolbag's handle hard enough to turn her knuckles white. There was a bright smile on her lips, though with the nervousness in her eyes it seemed a little forced. She was short, under five and a half feet tall, but had a noble, classic beauty and a regal bearing which added to her presence.   
Yami stirred uncomfortably. Something about this girl was curiously but undeniably familiar, which was very unsettling. He had never seen her before, and yet he knew her face, and what her voice would sound like when she spoke. As she bowed deeply at the waist towards the class he blinked, and found himself lounging on a gilded barge as it floated down the Nile, a girl he didn't know to his left, and Kaiba Seto's previous incarnation to his right. To his cousin the Priest's right was that girl, dressed in a fine, gauzy belted dress with a jewel encrusted broad golden collar worn over it and a gold circlet with a falcon design rested on her head, the wings of which came down, hiding her ears from sight when looked at head on. The Priest draped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, causing her to open her mouth to protest playfully...   
"Hajimemash'te. I am Matsura Sumiko."   
"Pleased to meet you too," chimed the class in unison, returning her greeting and startling Yami out of his vision or daydream, which he mentally shook off.   
'I'm just getting my past memories mixed up,' he told himself, even though it wasn't a very comforting thought.   
Tanaka-sensei had yet to take his eyes off her. She was the answer to every last one of his dark fantasies. He imagined how her skin would feel, how she would taste, how her hair would smell; how she would yelp when the crop came down the first time onto her flawless skin with a snap. In his mind he saw her shame as the strikes became a pleasant but painful sensation against her skin. He even imagined her voice crying out in protest even while her body gave in to her desires, and again as he would thrust his member into her virgin body...   
He felt his pants tighten as she turned to smile at him. "Sensei, may I take a seat?" She brought her bag in front of herself to clasp with both hands.   
Mentally filing his daydream away for later he smiled and nodded in return and looked out over the class. "Hmm, let's see." He saw several spots open, and picked one which would best suit his plans, which happened to be next to a certain boy with tri-colored hair. "Mutou!"   
Yugi's eyes widened a little. 'Oh shit.'   
'Shh, calm down hikari,' Yami's mind-voice soothed.   
Mentally taking a breath Yugi hopped to his feet. "Hai, sensei?"   
"Miss Matsura, take the seat beside Mutou there. He'll help you adjust to our school."   
Sumiko walked sedately to her assigned seat, knowing that all eyes were riveted to her every movement and doing her best not to let her nervousness show. Yugi smiled as he sat down, recognizing the stage fright from his duels with new Duel Monster duelists.   
Reaching her seat she bowed to Yugi, not quite as deep as before, and spoke. "Pleased to meet you, Mutou-san." Her hair fell briefly away from her face, exposing her earrings to his sight--they were simply gold studs with a small ankh dangling from one, and a scarab from the other.   
As he returned the bow from his seat Yugi sent a thought to Yami. 'Cool, she's into Egyptian stuff!'   
'Or she just thought they were pretty,' added the other Yugi dryly, watching the girl settle into her new desk with a soft sigh of relief as Tanaka began his lesson.   
"Psst!"   
Sumiko closed her eyes a moment so noone would see her roll them. 'And here we see the male population begin their ritual attempts at getting their asses kicked.' She looked at the one who has tried to grab her attention, a single eyebrow raised in silent question.   
"Is it true you killed your parents?"   
Shock prevented her rage from forming. Her mouth opened several times but she was unable to form a reply. Luckily, she didn't have to.   
"Of course she didn't, now shut up," another male whisper said before continuing more threateningly. "Before I MAKE you shut up."   
Sumiko glanced at the one who had stood up for her. He was tall with dark eyes and hair that came up in a spike rather like a pompadour.   
"Yeah," added another student, drawing her gaze. He was blue-eyed with a bushy blonde hairdo. "Matsura hasn't done anything to a'ya, so lay off o'her or you'll answer to us." The student turned a roguish grin and a flirtatious wink at Sumiko with a thumbs-up sign.   
The orphan blushed faintly but nodded her thanks to her two rescuers with a small smile. 'Hmm,' she thought as she turned back to the teacher, 'the blond is kind of cute, if you like the type. Maybe this place won't be so boring after all.'   
All during class notes were passed around silently and furtive glances were directed at the new girl, though the looks from some of the girls were more like glares. She simply ignored it all, including any notes people tried to pass to her. Her focus refused to break, and eventually the notes stopped, save a few comparing her to Kaiba Seto or a glacier.   
During the mathematics lesson Yugi watched her ice princess act, nonplussed. Experience with Kaiba had taught him that people's emotions can be denied to the point where they seem like little more than heartless automatons, but their eyes would always give them away. Kaiba's always revealed his love for his younger brother, losing their hard edge and warming slightly.   
'Seems to me that she just doesn't want to be overwhelmed in the middle of class,' spoke a small voice within the small boy. 'It's just a defense mechanism.'   
Yugi smiled faintly. Yami had decided that Yugi's psych class might benefit his strategies for the various games he plays so had read the book several times with Yugi turning the pages for him. 'Maybe she'll be more likely to talk after class or during lunch.'   
Lunchtime found a crowd of students around Sumiko's desk firing off question after question, faster than she could answer. Finally she excused herself, took her purse of its hook, grabbed her bento, and fairly ran out the door. She hurried through the halls and down the steps, ignoring the looks she was earning for this distinctly un-Japanese behavior.   
As she pushed open the main door a breathless voice rang out. "Wait! Matsura-san! Wait!"   
Recognizing the small boy's voice she paused just long enough for Mutou Yugi to catch up. "Hello, Mutou-san, may I help you?"   
He smiled brightly in response. "Call me Yugi. Wanna sit with my friends and me?" He pointed with a finger out towards the benches where his group of friends typically ate.   
Following where he was pointing to she saw a girl with short auburn hair sitting with the two boys who had rescued her in the classroom. Her stoic face broke into a smile as the girl grabbed the blonde's ear and shouted something which was muffled and distorted by the other activities going on outside.   
As she was turning almost shyly to face him she said "I-if you really don't mind, I think I would like to."   
"Of course we don't mind, s'why you got invited, Matsura-san!" He started off towards his friends, calling back over his shoulder. "I'll introduce you to everyone, okay?"   
"That's fine," she replied, "as long as you call me Sumiko."  
  
~ % ~  
  
Yugi made the introductions. Sumiko learned the girl was Mazaki Anzu who loved to dance ballet. The tallest guy was a motor sports nut named Honda Hiroto who went by his family name, and the blond was Jonouchi Katsuya who did too.   
As she picked up an apple-and-cheese skewer from her bento she looked up at the blond and asked, "What's your forte, Jonouchi-san?"   
His chest puffed out importantly. "I'm a Duel Monsters duelist. I even came in second at Duelist Kingdom!"   
Anzu rolled her pretty, dark eyes. "And he's been reminding us of that fact ever since." Everyone laughed while Jonouchi glowered at her.   
"Yeah, well, Yugi here's the best duelist in the world!"   
Yugi looked away from the new student, blushing. "Jou, you're embarrassing me."   
Something clicked in Sumiko's head. 'So that's why his name was so familiar. Mutou Yugi is the undisputed world champion.' He seemed like he was trying to keep a low profile, and since she wasn't one to make a fuss about things she simply smiled. Out loud she said, "Well, that's good. I've met two good duelists for me to challenge."   
Immediately pairs of deep honey and violet eyes sparked with interest and gazed at her. "You're a duelist?"   
As an answer to Yugi's question she tugged her purse onto her lap, opened it, and withdrew a deck of Duel Monster cards from an internal pocket.   
Jonouchi grinned. "Whoa, a girl duelist without an obnoxious attitude!"   
Yugi sweatdropped. "Mai isn't... uh, well... She's not that bad."   
Sumiko laughed along with the others. Though she had no idea who they were talking about she could well imagine the type. The wind chose that moment to pick up and the sun streaming through the tree leaves fell onto the swaying Puzzle hanging in front of Yugi's abdomen, catching on the stylized eye carved onto the front and drawing the new girl's gaze. 'That pendant has the same symbol as...'   
Jonouchi interrupted her thoughts with his biggest, best grin. "So how about it, Sumiko? Want to duel?"   
"Er, right now?" She looked at him uncertainly.   
"Sure, why not?" His eyes sparkled. "Or do you want to use duel disks?"   
She looked down at her deck. 'I don't want to frighten off the few friends I've made,' she thought to herself miserably. As she opened her mouth to decline politely the bell rang, interrupting her. She looked back up with a smile. "Er, why don't we talk about this later? Maybe after school, when we will have more time?"   
Anzu brightened. "How about we all go to Burger World after school? That way we can get to know each other better and not feel rushed." 'And I won't be late for my shift,' she added silently, knowing her friends would understand her reason for suggesting her workplace.   
"Sounds good to me," Honda said with a grin.   
"Wahoo!" Yugi whooped as he made a little hop and waved his hands. "Burgers!"   
Jonouchi playfully got the smaller boy in a headlock. "Calm down, Yuge, s'just burgers."   
"Yeah, but they're especially yummy at Burger World!"   
Sumiko giggled as she watched the boys' playful struggle until Yugi wriggled himself free. The entire group continued to chat about the food at Burger World as they packed up and headed back up to class. As they settled into their respective seats she placed her bag back on its hook and tucked her bento into her desk then opened her bag. Pulling out her laptop she flipped the power switch, opened it, and set it on her desk, waiting for her desktop to load.   
A glance at the clock let her know she didn't have much time to write.   
  
**My Computer | My Documents | public | myjournal.doc**  
  
September 15, 2003 1:27 pm  
Dear Diary,   
This school is a lot different than my last one in the states. For one, these uniforms are rather uncomfortable and force me to wear a skirt year round. I think I have made my first set of friends here in Domino City.   
The guy assigned to show me around was really sweet. You'll never guess who my guide is: Mutou Yugi! He happens to be the world champion of Duel Monsters! How awesome is that? He's not at all like I imagined him, but that's probably good. He's very sensitive and tries to keep a low profile, so I act like it's no big deal. It doesn't seem to be to him.   
I sit next to Yugi, by the window. He's got some friends in our class that he introduced me too. They all were very nice. One of them, Jonouchi was his name, is also a good duelist. He places highly in most of the duel championships Yugi wins. Jonouchi challenged me to a match, but I haven't accepted or declined yet.   
It's rather nice here, I think. Of course I'd rather be in the States with Ma and Pop, but...   
Well, class is about to resume, so that's all for now.   
Jaa ne.   
~S~   
  
** File | Save  
File | Exit  
Start | Shut Down | OK  
**   
Sumiko pressed the monitor's power button and, after closing the unit as the software shut down slid it back into its place in her bag. With one last beep the light faded and she turned towards her guide. "What subject do we have next, Yugi-san?"   
"It's Earth Sciences, the grey book with a mountain graphic on the side. We're on chapter three."   
"Thank you." She scanned the contents of her bag then pulled out the proper book and a new notebook. "Man, these Japanese textbooks are a lot smaller than the ones I'm used to."   
Those odd, violet eyes looked at her curiously. "American books are bigger?"   
"Yes." She opened the book in her hand randomly and pointed. "There are more illustrations and examples to explain the material." With a faint laugh she set it on her desk and flipped to the beginning of the proper chapter. "It took all the challenge out of learning."   
Yugi chuckled then looked at her with a grin. "What were you typing earlier?"   
Green eyes sparked with a dark, sad emotion as she turned away from the wide-eyed boy. After a moment she spoke. "It's a journal I've kept since my birthday. My laptop was one of my presents from my parents." She smiled faintly. "I'd wanted one for a long time."   
The sensitive boy winced. "Gomen nasai."   
"Daijoubu da, Yugi-kun. It's alright." She let out a breath and turned a bright smile towards him. "Just have to keep going, you know? I have to move on day by day and count my blessings and all that stuff."   
Yugi nodded numbly, unsure of how to respond. Luckily for him their Earth Science teacher bustled in at that moment, enabling him to not say anything and still be polite. Throughout the lesson he watched Sumiko nervously fidget with the two rings she wore on her left hand when not taking notes. She had a simple silver band around her ring finger and a similar gold one around her pinky. There was a tan line at the base of her middle finger too, like she normally wore a third one there.   
While part of him was relieved that she had calmed down from the ice princess act from before her new behavior confused him even more. 'I wonder why she didn't wear that third ring?'   
"Mutou!"   
Startled out of his musings he hopped automatically to his feet. "Hai, sensei?"   
"Mutou, I'm just taking roll, you don't have to stand."   
Amid snickers from his classmates the blushing young man sat back down.   
  
~....~   
  
[Yugi's voice:] Next time, in chapter two of "The Lonely Child," Sumiko-san accepts Jonouchi-kun's challenge and even accepts a wager on it; if she loses the duel she and Jonouchi will go on a date! But why didn't she remember the challenge, and why did she suddenly lash out at Grandpa? Can we really trust Matsura Sumiko? Tune in next time to see what I mean!   
  
  
Author's note.   
Lately I've been accused of being too wordy, and of using words too big for my target audience to understand. Simply put, and censored, my response is for them to kiss my tushie. My 'target audience' is NOT the immature, and/or young crowd of fans or genki fangirls. I write for mature readers who have the ability to read my 4000-word chapters without thinking it's far too long. In summary: I write for myself, both for my own enjoyment in the process and for my reading style.   
  
While I'm obviously biased, I believe this to be a good story--and given my typical opinion of my work that IS saying something. Perhaps it was good therapy for me to sketch out scenes that smoldered in the darker parts of my mind; maybe I'm just crazy and should be locked up. Either way, I hope you enjoy my story.   
  
Gaijin: Foreign barbarian.   
Daijoubu/(Daijoubu da): "It's okay". When used as "Daijoubu ka" it's "are you/it okay?"   
Oi: Roughly translated as "Hey you".   
Hajimemash'te: "Pleased to meet you" or just "Hello" when you first meet a person.   
Sensei: "Teacher". It's often used for manga artists or anyone proficient at something.   
Hikari: Literally "light". It's a nickname for Yugi, since Yami is the "darkness".  
Pompadour: An odd hairstyle where the hair is combed up to stand high in the front of the head.   
Gomen nasai: "Please forgive me".   
Hai: Yes.   
  
For those that didn't figure it out, the bold text is Matsura-san playing on her computer. The original idea for this fiction was that it was going to be her diary alone, but that didn't happen. There was just too much going on that she wouldn't know about.   
  
Reviews encourage me to write faster, so please please please review this and my other FF.net posted fanfictions.   
  
See you next chapter! 


	2. Acquaintance

See Chapter One for disclaimer.  
**The Lonely Child  
A Story by Cosmic Jester  
Chapter Two: Acquaintance **   
  
Voices. She was sure she heard voices. Words were beyond her comprehension at the moment, but at least she could hear. She tried to open her eyes and succeeded, and instantly regretted it. The light overhead stabbed into her eyes, causing them to shut instinctively.  
One of the voices shouted and she winced. Another mistake, for the instant she moved pain shot throughout her body. She felt a shadow fall over her eyes and she risked opening them again. Backlit above her was a shape she recognized as a head. A bald head.  
As she shut her eyes again against the throbbing headache her battered voice managed a soft whimpering sound of agony.  
"Are you alright," the bald man asked slowly and softly.   
'Oh sure, just peachy,' she thought sarcastically. The only thing she was able to slowly force from her dried lips however was a single whispered word. "Huh... hurts..."   
Moments later she felt a cold, sharp new pain on her arm. A stinging sensation. It didn't last long, and she let the sweet oblivion of unconsciousness take her in and soothe her pain.   
Hours or days later the unknown girl breached into awakening again. Presumably a pain drug had been given to her, since the pain that had held her captive before had been dulled along with her thoughts, and her pounding headache had been dimmed to a mild throbbing. Morphine was her guess.   
There was a soft, steady beep like a heartbeat in the background, and after a moment she realized it was indeed a monitor of her own heartbeat. 'I must be in a hospital,' she mused silently. Since the light was no longer on above her head she opened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings. The room was bare and functional, and though a small bouquet of cheerful yellow daisies rested on a table near the single window and the walls were papered in soothing colors it had a cold, sterile feeling to it.   
"Ah, so Sleeping Beauty awakens."   
Startled golden green eyes snapped towards the doorway and the balding man standing there. His voice was familiar; he had to have been the one who had asked her if she was okay. "Who are you? Where am I?"   
He smiled warmly and stepped towards her with his hand extended. "My name is Doctor James Fuller." As he shook her left hand gently he continued. "I work here at St. Mary's Mercy Hospital, where you have been sleeping for eleven days."   
"Eleven days?" Confused, the teenager looked down at her own body. Her right leg and arm were both in casts, and there was something wrapped around her torso to hold her immobile. Seeing her horror and confusion the doctor spoke softly. "You were in a car that was hit by a drunk driver. You're a very lucky young lady to have survived."   
Sumiko took a moment to process that in her drugged haze. Her eyes were becoming heavy, so she let them shut. "Where are my parents...?"   
"We'll talk about that after your nap." He squeezed her hand gently. "I need to check some things first. What is your name?"   
"Sumiko Matsura." The answer was half spoken, half sighed.   
"Who is president?"   
"George Bush."   
"Who was the US just at war with?"   
"Saddam Hussein in Iraq."   
"What year is it?"   
"1991."   
Doctor Fuller's jaw dropped until he saw the smile the girl was fighting. He chuckled and patted her hand. "Very cute."   
"I try."   
He smiled down at her peaceful face. "Well for now you should sleep and heal."   
The girl mumbled sleepily. "I want to see my parents."   
Fortunately she was out cold the next second, sparing the doctor the hated task of giving terrible news. He sighed as he checked her charts briefly and wrote in a summary of their conversation, and then signed the bottom of the form. She had shown playful wit under stress, which was usually a good sign.   
As he clicked his pen so he could replace it in his pocket he gave her one last pitying look, feeling sorry for her and for whoever had to tell her that her parents had been DOA.   
"OHMYGODLOOKOUT!"   
Sumiko glanced up from the grass just in time to get walloped in the chest by an off course volleyball spike. Giving a small grunt her hands moved up to ruefully rub the sting out of her skin, hoping there wouldn't be a bruise.   
After Earth Sciences was gym for the Sophomores of Domino High. The modest American had been relieved to hear that there were two gymnasiums and the two classes were divided by sex. She was even more relieved when the coach said she could sit the day out because she lacked the proper uniform on the condition that she have one by their next session. Sumiko readily agreed, and hard been taken to a corner of the locker room to be weighed and measured.   
Now she was sitting on the grass with her legs pulled to one side, crossed at the ankles. She was supposed to watch the volleyball game in progress before her, but her mind had drifted thousands of miles away and several months in the past.   
As the girls swooped in around her, offering help, she waved them off and got up to her feet. "I'm fine," she said with a smile. "It startled me more than anything." The others headed back to their game, not caring about it, offended by her dismissal, or disappointed that she wasn't really hurt.   
Anzu, who was the only one to remain behind, didn't look convinced. "Are you sure, Sumiko-san? I hit that ball pretty hard..."   
"Really, I'm fine," she insisted. "It hurts a little, but it was my fault for daydreaming in the middle of a full-contact volleyball game!" As the pair laughed they received a LOOK from the coach; the kind of look teachers give students as a silent warning. The brunette hurried back to the game and the green-eyed American leaned back against the tree to watch.   
As she was watching the girls run about hitting the ball towards one another Sumiko's eyes caught on something white and flowing; a man in a long set of robes with a matching turban was staring at her from beside a tree on the other side of the volleyball court. A pure white feather was tucked into the winding folds of the turban, and a large, peculiar golden ankh dangled over his chest on a cord that went up and vanished under the folds of his loose garment. In his left hand was some sort of scale, which also gleamed of gold. His eyes were hidden, but his skin was dark and his lips were drawn into a serious line.   
Oddest of all was the fact that noone else seemed to see the rather conspicuous man.   
Sumiko pushed off from the tree and gazed directly at him. 'Who on earth is this guy?'  
"Okay girls," yelled the female coach. "Pack it in, time to go! You too, Miss Matsura!"   
Hearing her name, she turned to look at the coach near the door of the school. She dusted off the back of her fuku as she turned back to the where the man was standing. Or rather, where he HAD been standing. Somehow the rather tall man had vanished, leaving prints of his sandaled feet in the grass, confirming that he hadn't been a figment of her imagination.   
"Odd guy," she murmured softly as she headed back into the building.   
  
~ % ~  
  
The sun shone brightly as the teens walked down the busy sidewalk. Sumiko trailed behind the others, watching and listening to their conversation in silence as they chatted about inconsequential things. She turned her face up into the sunlight, closing her eyes behind her dark sunglasses as she smiled a little. Her skin welcomed the warm, gentle touch of sunlight.   
"So Yugi," Honda was saying, "What are you going to get?"   
"A number two special extra large!"   
Yugi's enthusiasm was infectious--the new student's small smile broadened. Her eerie gold-green eyes opened again as she spoke. "You really do like burgers, don't you Yugi-san?"   
"Un!" Beaming a smile up at her the boy with three natural hair colors pointed to a white building about a half block ahead of them. It had a large smiling anthropomorphic cheeseburger on top and she could make out the words "Burger World" in English. "Look, we're almost there!"   
Sumiko's mouth opened for a reply, but at that moment her small black macramé purse began chiming out Fur Elise. Blushing, she apologized as she dug for her cell phone. "Excuse me, that's my grandmother, I have to take this."   
"Just as well, this is where I change clothes anyway," Anzu said, motioning to the door of the taco place they were in front of. "I'll be just a minute."   
While she hurried off to the girls' restroom the boys began talking quietly and their new companion answered her phone in English and reassured her grandmother that she was okay.   
"Some of my fellow students invited me for a meal at Burger World on Fourth Street, Obaasan. We're almost there."   
"Good! You're making friends! Now Yume-chan, be home by eight o'clock."   
Sumiko rolled her eyes faintly at the nickname. Little Dream was what her family called her ever since she was a baby; her mother wasn't supposed to ever be able to have children and the miracle of a daughter was a dream come true. 'Leave it to Gram to remember my most embarrassing nickname,' she thought. Aloud she said, "I should be back at the house before then. This shouldn't take nearly that long. I'll call you if we go somewhere else."   
"That's fine, dear. By the way, who are you with?"   
"Mazaki Anzu, Mutou Yugi, Honda Hiroto, and Jonouchi Katsuya. They're all in my class. Mutou-san is my assigned guide."   
"Mutou? That name sounds familiar..."   
"I'll tell you about Mutou-san later."   
"What about Yugi?"   
"Shh!" She covered the mouthpiece and spoke softly, returning to Japanese so her friend could understand. "I was saying Yugi-san is my guide." Flipping easily back to English, she returned to her grandmother. "Sorry, Jonouchi asked me something."   
"Oh-ho! So there's no "san" there? I think someone has a crush," Obaasan teased.   
Sumiko flushed. "It's not like that at all!" Her color further reddened when her volume drew the gazes of the three boys and nearby pedestrians.   
"Uh-huh." The older woman didn't sound convinced at all.   
"Quit playing matchmaker already!"   
"Whatever you say dear."   
The teen took a slow breath to keep herself from continuing to make a scene then noticed Anzu stepping back into the restaurant proper and head towards the door. Sumiko was slightly surprised to see Anzu in a flat, pleatless skirt and a sleeveless white collared shirt. "Look, we'll talk about my day when I get home. I'll call you later or if we go anywhere else, alright?"   
"Have fun, Yume-chan."   
"Talk to you later, Gram." She hung up the phone and sheepishly tucked the device into a pocket of her purse as Anzu reached them, tucking the Hello Kitty lanyard charm a certain way so she could grab it easily. "Gomen nasai, minna," she mumbled. "Excuse me, everyone. Obaasan worries about me."   
Jonouchi grinned at her. "Hey, it's okay."   
Anzu nodded enthusiastically. "Even though Domino is relatively safe there are still plenty of people that will hurt you one way or another." She started the group walking again as she continued to speak. "Your grandmother is right to worry."   
The group continued walking until a waitress with a chirping voice greeted them. "Welcome to Burger World, may I show you to a table?" Seeing their large party she settled them into a large back booth. After taking their soda orders she vanished into the kitchen as Anzu glanced at her watch.   
"Anou ne, Anzu-san?" The addressed girl looked up at Sumiko. "May I ask why you changed out of your fuku?"   
She looked at the new girl intensely. "Can I trust you to keep a big secret?"   
"Of course." She smiled. "Who would I tell anyway?"   
The taller girl nodded. "Well, the secret is this." She motioned the other girl closer and whispered softly. "I work here without school permission." After sitting back up she continued, at her normal volume. "And I have a shift in a few minutes."   
Sumiko blinked several times as her brows furrowed, rather confused about why a school would have to give consent for her to get a job. Scenarios ran through her head until her eyes brightened as the answer visibly clicked in her mind: In Japan students can't have jobs without their school giving them a permit. She nodded brightly. "Don't worry, Anzu-san. I won't tell a soul." She offered out her pinky, which a relieved Anzu accepted in her own. "Yubikiri genman," she said with a smile. "Cross my heart, hope to die."   
Anzu repeated the words, then as they both giggled at the childishness of it she noticed a flash of silver by Sumiko's throat. "Is that a necklace?"   
"Hn?" Momentarily thrown off-balance the orphan reached to her neck. "Oh. Hai, it's a necklace of sorts." While half-blushing she pulled a pretty silver chain that had a silver ring with a simple round sapphire hung on it out from under her fuku jacket. The chain had been slipped through the ring then looped around so that one could remove it without taking the chain off the neck.   
"Wow!" Anzu gazed appreciatively. "That's very pretty."   
Sumiko nodded slightly. "Thank you, but I'd rather not talk about it. It was a gift from my parents."   
While everyone nodded their understanding Yugi smiled slightly. 'So that's where her third ring was. She wanted to keep it close for comfort, but not too close while she was at school because of the bad memories.'  
As the group began to talk about school the hostess arrived to distribute their drinks. She looked at the brunette, slightly confused, and asked, "Anzu-chan, aren't you on in five?"   
"Hai. I was about to go get on my tie and nametag."   
"Well hurry. Yamano-san isn't in a very good mood today."   
Anzu rolled her eyes as she stood up. "When is that guy EVER in a good mood, Hisae-chan?"   
Hisae giggled, holding up her tray to hide it as she watched Anzu pick up her book bag. "Still, you don't want to be late," she warned as she peered impishly over the tray's rim.   
"Sou." Anzu smiled at her friends. "Thanks again for coming with me."   
Jonouchi gave her a thumbs-up. "No problem!"   
"Yeah," chimed Yugi.   
Honda nodded. "We were coming here anyway."   
Anzu waved at them and headed to the back with her coworker. After she had vanished behind the doors Sumiko looked back at the water drops condensing on her glass of Dr. Pepper and toyed with them with the nail of her pinky finger. After peeking around for anyone who shouldn't overhear she asked quietly, "Why is Anzu working here?"   
"She's saving to go to an exclusive dance school in America," explained Yugi over his cola's rim. "Her dream is to dance professionally."   
"It's good that she's working toward her dream," Sumiko said before she took a sip.   
Deep brown eyes peered at her curiously. "Do you have a dream, Sumiko-san?"   
"I used to, Honda-san" said the girl dully as she fiddled with the silver chain holding the ring. "I wanted to go into law with my father." The silver ring came loose and was slipped onto her middle finger as she kept speaking. "Now that he's gone I'm not sure what to dream."   
As Honda took a sip of his tea his blonde companion spoke, rather awkwardly trying to change the subject. "Is there anythin' you like to do on Sundays?"   
Sumiko blinked, momentarily confused. Then she chuckled softly to herself. "I'd forgotten that I won't get Saturdays off from school anymore. You see," she continued while she returned to playing with the water droplets, "in the States I got both Saturday and Sunday."   
Jonouchi groaned. "That's so cool."   
"You WOULD think so," muttered Honda. "Lazy bum."   
"To answer your question," she continued, before Jonouchi could attack his friend, "I read a lot, write, and play lots of strategy games."   
'Ask her how good she is, aibou!'  
Innocently, Yugi spoke for his other half. "Are you any good at them?"   
"I was the local league champion in go and chess, so I suppose so."   
The three boys exchanged a series of glances. "Boy do we know someone who'd love to meet ya," Jonouchi said as he picked up his Mountain Dew. Yugi sent a quelling look at him to shut him up before he said too much.   
Luckily, before Sumiko could ask about this person their waitress arrived to take their orders. She and Yugi couldn't help but giggle at the size of Honda and Jonouchi 's orders, which were shouted in unison. The waitress blinked, taken back, but turned to Yugi who ordered his number two special, extra large please.   
"And you, miss?"   
Sumiko glanced up from examining her ring. "I'd just like a small salad, if you please."   
Their waitress nodded, bowed, and hurried to get their food order in to the cook.   
"So," Yugi said hurriedly, before anyone else could say anything, "what kind of a Duel Monsters deck do you use, Sumiko-san?"   
There was a pause while Sumiko closed her eyes for a moment, as if in deep thought, then her sharp, blue eyes sparkled with glee as she took her deck out of her purse. "Well to be honest I have five decks that I play with."   
The boys' eyes bulged and Jonouchi cried out, "Why do you have so many?!"   
"Different strategies," she said simply as she flipped through the cards. "The idea behind this one is to keep monsters on the field until I can pull out my hard hitters, while simultaneously whittling away life points."   
Honda frowned "You mean cards like 'Fireball', right?"   
She smirked darkly. "Not 'Hi no Tama' specifically, but that's the general idea."   
Yugi grinned. "We won't ask you for more detail about it. It'll be more fun to learn as we go what your cards are." He gestured to Jonouchi. "Jou plays an advanced beat-down, and I use a balanced and single-monster deck."   
"By the way, Sumiko-san." Jou smiled at her. "Ya never gave me an answer."   
"Huh?" Sapphire eyes blinked in confusion. "An answer to what?"   
"To my duel challenge. Ya didn't say yes or no."   
The girl thought quickly. "I'm still debating about it. Perhaps I'll accept if you make it... interesting."   
His response was a roguish grin. "Whattaya mean, like duelin' for stakes?"   
"Why not? My terms are fun." Her lips turned into a smug, challenging smirk. "Unless, of course, you're a coward."   
The grin faded. "Name your terms, lady."   
She grinned broadly with a slightly gleeful glint to her deep blue eyes. "Eight thousand Life Points apiece, standard tribute summoning rules apply. There are five monsters, five normal magic and trap, and one field card limits on one side of the field at any given time." Her grin turned into a smirk. "And the winner wins whatever was put up as a wager."   
"Wagered? Like... stakes?"   
"Mmhm." She nodded at him. "Name something you would like from me, or for me to do. But," she added as an afterthought, "keep it rated for family viewing. I ain't that kind of girl."   
Jonouchi blushed and waved his hands defensively. "Of course you're not," he said quickly then rested his hands once more on the table. "But how about a date?"   
She blinked in surprised, then laughed. "Forward, aren't you?"   
"No guts no glory," he said with far more confidence than he felt.   
"Alright," she said with a slightly vicious chuckle. "If you win I'll go on a date with you. And if I win..." She gazed at him thoughtfully a moment. "If I win you have to help me with the repairs of my Grandmother's garden."   
He blinked, confused. "Huh?"   
"When my grandparents got married Grandpa made Gram a beautiful garden in their back yard. Noone has been maintaining it for years, and it's too much for me to fix the gazebo and bridges by myself."   
Jonouchi thought about it a moment. Win or lose he would still get to be alone with her... And he happened to enjoy woodshop work, so it wouldn't even be a chore. 'Once I beat her,' he thought gleefully, 'I can offer to help anyway. She'll be so impressed I'm a great duelist and a gentleman too!'  
Yugi and Honda, knowing their friend as they did, knew exactly what was crossing the blonde's mind and exchanged a look across the table. 'I hope he knows what he's doing.'  
'He'll be okay, aibou. It's just a friendly match, and it's doubtful she's on Jonouchi's level.'  
'I guess so,' returned Yugi doubtfully, 'but there's something about her that makes me nervous.'  
His other half chuckled. 'And here I thought you liked Anzu,' he teased.   
Yugi's cheeks flamed. 'I just feel like there's something important we're overlook--'  
"Uh... Chikyuu to Yugi-san?"   
He blinked a few times rapidly, returning his attention to reality. With a sheepish smile towards the girl beside him he apologized. "I'm sorry. I was... talking to myself."   
Eyes of sapphire sparkled as she smiled a bit. "I know how that can be."   
Honda smirked. "I'm not so sure." He sobered and fell quiet after a glance from Yugi's violet eyes flashed crimson momentarily--a warning from Yami not to say too much.   
Sumiko blinked, confused. "Did I miss something?"   
Honda waved it off. "Not really."   
"Alright then, I accept your terms." Jou turned to the smallest boy with a grin. "Oi, Yugi? Is my duel disk still at your place? I put my name on it like you suggested so it wouldn't get confused with anyone else's."   
"Uh-huh. You forgot it the last time you stayed over." His soft, slightly feminine voice continued in a mild scold. "You wouldn't believe what I've had to do to keep ojiisan from putting both of our duel disks up for sale as autographed Duel City memorabilia!"   
Jou sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Oh. Well... Uhm... Oops?"   
Honda groaned and set down the tea he was drinking. "You'd forget your thick skull if it wasn't attached."   
The group broke into laughter, into which even Sumiko joined in.   
Recovering, Jou grinned at her. "So do you have a duel disk?"   
"Oh, I've been meaning to ask ever since you mentioned them during lunch." Innocently and naively she set down her soda after her sip. "What's a duel disk?"   
  
~ % ~  
  
**My Computer | My Documents | public | myjournal.doc**  
  
September 15, 2003 7:43 pm  
Dear Diary,   
I'm writing this on the bus on the way over to Yugi's family's store (Honda and Anzu were busy so aren't coming). Apparently my "other half" accepted the challenge from Jonouchi and they want to use some high-tech hologram system to add realism or something. I'll tell you about how it is when I get home.   
As I'm typing this I can feel her stirring in my subconscious. She's really eager to duel Jonouchi for some reason. Can't say I blame her; she's had nothing to do for a long time and has been cramped into the back corner of my (our?) mind during the whole legal mess and the move. She's got to have cabin fever as it were. Still, I'm going to try to duel alone. It's not fair to Jonouchi for me to have another opinion. Besides, if word of my second self got out even Yugi and his friends might desert me.   
She's been pushing her boundaries lately. When my friends and I went to a restaurant after school she came out right in front of Jonouchi, Honda, and Yugi. I was lucky noone noticed the eye thing or my ring. Maybe I should have a word with her about not taking over in public. There was an odd man in white watching me today during gym. He vanished when I wasn't looking, but noone else saw that he was even there to begin with! That freaked me out a bit, but not as much as it would have seven months ago.   
So many strange things have happened to me since she came to me. Was formed... remembered... splintered off... whatever. Not quite sure how to describe what happened. I don't even know whether or not I'm crazy for--  
Jonouchi is coming over to sit by me, so I'm ending it here.   
~S~  
  
**File | Save  
File | Exit  
Start | Shut Down | OK**  
  
As she closed her computer down she turned to smile up at the former delinquent as she teased, "Are you coming to forfeit?"   
He sunk down onto the seat beside her with a snort. "Yeah right." He grinned at her. "I was just wonderin' where ya wanted ta go on our date when I win!"   
Sumiko's cheeks colored. 'Oh lord, what's she gotten me into now?' Her smile didn't falter as she shrugged. "I don't know what there is to do around here." She gave him a wink as she made a guess. "Remember, though, it's only *if* you win."   
Jou smiled a half-smirk. "If you say so."   
She laughed and gave his arm a playful, light push. "Confident, aren't you?" Her golden jade eyes peered up at his deep honey ones. "You've never seen me duel before, Jonouchi-kun. I might surprise you."   
"True," he conceded while studying her gaze, oddly thoughtful for him. Under his scrutiny her face pinked slightly, but she didn't look away.   
How long the pair remained like that they couldn't say. Finally Jou reached his left hand to gently clasp her right. "Sumiko, I-"  
"Yahoo!" Yugi hopped up from his seat in front of them with his excited whoop. "It's our stop!"   
The two teens snatched their hands back, both looking embarrassed while Sumiko slid her laptop into her bookbag. They exited the bus in silence, a confused Yugi trailing behind.   
As they stepped into the game store the bells over the door chimed merrily, announcing their arrival. The smallest one called out into the seemingly empty store. "Oi! Ojiisan! Tadaima!"   
"Yugi, okaeri!" The reply came from the rear of the building and was followed by the sound of footsteps approaching. Sumiko nervously smoothed her fuku jacket once before the door opened and an older man that looked a great deal like Yugi stepped in. He wore a bandanna tied around his head with a kanji symbol at his forehead that the American didn't recognize. He had an unkempt beard and mustache that matched the wild glint in the short man's eyes.   
"Ojiisan, this is Matsura Sumiko-san. She just joined our class today." Yugi's violet eyes turned towards his friend. "This is my grandpa. I live here with him."   
"Err... Hajimemash'te, Mutou-san." The girl bowed politely towards the shopkeeper.   
He inclined slightly. "Pleased to meet you as well." His aging eyes slid appreciatively along her figure. "I'm surprised you keep making such busty friends, Yugi. She's what, a 34-D?"   
"OJIISAAAN!" Yugi cried out in mortification.   
His friend colored deeply and clenched a fist. 'What a perverted old geezer!'  
Jonouchi watched her shoulder shake as Sugoroku laughed. Then her spine stiffened and as she strode forward with purpose in her steps her right hand reached back. The old man was too busy laughing at his grandson's embarrassment to notice until she was glaring down at him, fire in her dark blue eyes.   
A moment later a resounding slap filled the air with an angry yell. "YOU PERVERT!"   
Sugoroku landed on his rear with a throbbing red handprint on his cheek. Sumiko's sudden and uncharacteristic outburst stunned Jou and Yugi. It was a long moment before either of them could move. Jonouchi grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back while Yugi darted to help his grandfather up. "Ojiisan, are you okay?"   
"Ho ho," laughed the shopkeeper as he reached up to rub his smarting cheek. "It's alright, I deserved that one." As Sumiko blinked several times, her gentle golden jade eyes wide with confusion, Sugoroku smiled at her. She returned it shyly.   
"Gomen nasai Mutou-san," she murmured as she bowed deeply. "Sometimes my temper gets the better of me."   
He waved it off. "Forget about it, Matsura-san. You kids go run and play."   
Yugi beamed a smile at him. "We're going to grab the duel disks and go duel in the park."   
His guardian nodded as he winked at the boy. "I want to see her come back to our store often, so be good to her."   
Yugi darted past his guardian as he rolled his eyes. He hurried upstairs to his room and rummaged briefly in his closet for both disks, having hidden them under a pile of plush animals. He slid his own into place on his arm, smiling.   
'I thought we were going to let Jonouchi duel her.'  
'Oh sure, but it's awkward to have two stacked on top of each other. I don't want to break anything.' He hurried out and closed the door behind himself, Jou's disk held firmly in his right hand. As he clunked down the steps he heard three laughing voices. Encouraged that his grandpa had finally stopped being weird in front of Sumiko he hurried out.   
Jou burst out into even louder laughter when he saw his friend, which prompted the other two to giggle and "ho ho" louder as well.   
Yugi blinked. "What's so funny?"   
Sumiko's hand darted up to cover her mouth in an attempt to stop her giggles from escaping. "Ah, nothing hee hee... nothing at all, Yugi-san!" Her attempts failed and she burst into another round of giggling laughter.   
"I was just showing them one of our family picture albums. We got to that section of you in the tub as a baby and I was telling them about how you still have your rubber ducky--"  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"   
  
~...~  
  
  
  
[Yugi's voice:] Eh?! Who would've thought that gentle Sumiko could be so vicious while dueling! Wait! What was Shadi doing spying on Sumiko-san? Does the Egyptian eye on Matsura-san's sapphire ring have something to do with all of this? Is there be more to the Millennium Items than we've been told? Find out next time!   
  
  
Author's note.   
Wow, over 5000 words in one chapter! In my defense I had planned to include the duel and aftermath in this chapter, however after writing about 6000 words and not being into the duel I decided to split this supposed chapter into three. Now on to explain some potential culture clashing.   
  
It's true that in Japan students must have permission given to them by their school in order to be able to have a job. I'm not sure why, but it's clearly stated in the manga that Domino High has a "no jobs except under extenuating circumstances" policy.   
  
"Yubikiri genman" is more or less equivalent to "cross my heart, hope to die; stick a needle in my eye". It's used when making a serious promise, usually accompanied by a pinky swear. Although it's slightly childish high school girls will occasionally do it too.   
  
The Japanese school week is Monday through Friday, usually until late in the afternoon, and then again on Saturday morning. Students have Saturday afternoon and Sunday off.   
  
Go is a game of strategy that I am personally very fond of, although few people my age had heard of it until the "Hikaru no Go" (Hikaru's Go) manga had begun to be translated in Shonen Jump. It's played on a board with many crossed lines, and the idea is to claim as much territory on the field as possible by placing your black or white round stones in the places where the lines meet. While I enjoy the game I never said I was good at it. Ahem.   
  
In Japan you only have close friends over at your house. The most common exception to this rule is if you live above your family store, like Yugi, though they aren't usually allowed into the private area. It was very bold of Matsura to have a stake be having Jonouchi over to her house. It's an invitation of sorts, and that's just generally not done. Then again, she is sort of a Gaijin.   
  
Oi: Roughly translated as "Hey you".  
Chikyuu: Our planet Earth.   
Ojiisan: "Grandfather".  
Tadaima: "I've returned", or "Hi honey, I'm home".  
Okaeri: "Welcome back".  
Hajimemash'te: "Pleased to meet you" or just "Hello" when you first meet a person.   
Gomen nasai: "Please forgive me".  
Gaijin: Foreign barbarian.   
See you next chapter! 


	3. Opponent Part 1

The Stones of Fate  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Fanfiction Series by Cosmic Jester  
Story One: The Lonely Child  
  
Note from Jester: Is there really a small, lighted park near the Game Shop? I have no bloody idea. Let's just pretend there is for the purposes of this story.... unless you want this to take a lot longer. And I mean a LOT longer. The Japanese names for the cards are being used, but for those that don't know them that well or can't tell what they are a guide is in the end notes.  
  
Chapter Three: Opponent (Part 1)  
  
The moon had risen over Domino City by the time the three teens stepped out of the Game Shop. Yugi led the way as he excitedly explained to the American how to use a duel disk. "Your deck goes in there, and your graveyard is there. There's a slot that extends for a field spell card."  
"The rest is pretty self-explanatory, Yugi-san." Sumiko giggled faintly. "I can handle it." Sheepishly the short teen scratched the back of his head. "Gomen. I just get excited."  
As they turned into the small park she struggled out of her uniform's jacket and tied it around her waist. "Mou, that's so much better." She smoothed out her sleeves before beginning to rummage through her small purse. "It's a lot warmer here than I'm used to."  
While walking to one side of the park Jonouchi pressed a button on the top of his Disk. There was a soft high-tech whirring sound before the disk activated in 'edit options' mode. "The deal was eight thousand Life Points, right?"  
"Uh-huh," agreed his opponent. She turned her eerie golden green eyes to gaze intensely at Yugi's violet ones. "May I borrow the Duel Disk, please?"  
"Oh! Right!" In his excitement of a prospective new dueling challenge for both of his selves Yugi had forgotten that he was still wearing his own disk. "I'll set the Life Points to eight thousand for you," he said as he turned it on and began tapping buttons.  
"Domo arigatou gozaimasu, Yugi-san."  
Honey eyes narrowed slightly across the field as Jonouchi watched one of his best friends slide the disk onto Matsura's arm. He busied himself with shuffling his deck, looking away from the sight of Yugi helping her. Why on earth did it bother him so much?  
"...See? It slips on like this and automatically adjusts to the size of your arm when you touch this button." After obediently pressing it the girl gave a soft yelp accompanied a wince as the armband tightened around her left forearm. Sumiko took a calming deep breath as alarm filled gentle violet eyes. "What is it?" He reached out to her, concerned for his new friend.  
She withdrew from his approaching touch. "It's nothing," she lied. Her eyes were artfully guileless as she spoke. "It just startled me is all."  
Yugi wavered, then nodded slowly. He grinned at her and carefully removed his deck from the slot in his disk then pointed to a spot roughly ten yards away from Jonouchi. "Go there, put your deck in, then point at Jou and push that same button again."  
A side benefit of dueling in this park was that the spectators could sit at a safe distance on a bench or in a swing located approximately at the middle of the dueling arena. As Sumiko walked to the indicated spot, following the directions given to her Yugi climbed up into one, noting with mild irritation that his feet still didn't touch the gravel. Yami quietly spoke in Yugi's mind.  
[She was lying. It really did hurt her.]  
{I know.}  
[You aren't going to call her on it?]  
{No. She'll tell us when she's ready.}  
Yami sighed inwardly. His lighter half could be far too trusting. [I'm going to split off so I can watch first-hand.]  
{Go ahead. You don't need permission, you know.}  
The eye on Yugi's Puzzle flashed briefly and the Pharaoh appeared beside him, clad in what appeared to be black leather with a broad steel ring at his chest and several buckles extending from it. A short cape trailed behind him in a slight breeze as he stood there.  
Most humans, except Yugi, couldn't see Yami, who was leaning back against the swing set's pole. Jonouchi, however, through long association and friendship with his friend's dark side could see him translucently, like a ghost. Jou nodded at the spiky-haired pair to acknowledge their presence but did not address the Duel King in their new friend's company.  
Sumiko slid her deck into the slot and hesitantly pointed it at Jonouchi. "So I just push this, and..." She yelped when the two holographic projectors shot out and settled into place.  
"Right, now I do the same." Jou followed suit, his projectors completing the arena. His honey eyes met jade, and he smirked. "Let's go."  
She smiled at him across the small field. "Shall we jan-ken-pon for the first turn?"  
  
"Nah, you go first if you want." He grinned. 'She'll need all the help she can get.'  
"Thank you. May I look at my first five cards before I decide?"  
"Go ahead."  
She beamed a smile at him as she drew from the top of her deck, mentally tallying each card as it was drawn. 'Blessed Rain. Troop Dragon. Simochi Allergy. Goblin Berries. Bottomless Pit. Not a bad first hand.' Aloud she said, "I would prefer the first turn, since you gave me my choice."  
"Okay." He flashed her a wink. "Then let's duel!"  
After waiting for him to draw his own starting hand Sumiko drew her sixth card. The match was on, and Jou's opponent was smiling.  
She spoke in a clear voice. "First I'll set a card, and place a monster in face-down defense position." She blinked, surprised, when face- down holograms of her Troop Dragon, and Simochi Allergy cards appeared before her. "Wow! Neat!"  
Jonouchi grinned. "Just wait." His brown eyes sparked as he drew then looked over his hand. 'Demon Hunter, Armor Lizard, Shield and Sword, Angel's Dice, Baby Dragon, an' Landostar Swordsman. Pretty good.' "Alright. I'll summon Armor Lizard in attack mode," he announced as he slapped the card down onto the space on his duel disk.  
Yugi calmly watched as the bipedal alligator appeared in flares of light. It was a bold move, but that was typical of his friend's dueling style.  
The other duelist on the other hand gasped in surprise. "Oh my goodness! It's so real!"  
The Lizard watched her every movement, its tongue snaking out to tease its sneering lips. His master grinned. "Attack her monster," he commanded.  
Sumiko yelped and instinctively leapt back from the charging reptile's downward slash, landing wide-eyed on her rear with a soft grunt as the holographic blade sliced through her monster card. The card exploded with light, and a bipedal dragon wearing full combat armor with his shield raised up defensively flashed briefly where the card had been before shattered into glowing virtual dust which faded quickly.  
Jonouchi sprinted across the battlefield and helped the shaken girl to her feet. "Are you alright?"  
She dusted off the back of her skirt, silent for a moment. With her head tipped downward her long bangs made shadows over her eyes, but he saw a smirk turn her lips up. "I'm fine, just got startled by how real it looks. I can deal with it now."  
With a nod Jonouchi turned and jogged back to his place while Sumiko picked the monster card off her disk and slid it into the graveyard. "By destroying my Dragon you activated its effect." Delicately manicured fingers tugged her deck from its place and she began searching through it. "I get another of them immediately, in my choice of attack or defense positions."  
Yugi nodded thoughtfully from his seat at the sidelines. "That's a useful creature to have."  
"Indeed." She sent a smile at him as she selected a card and slapped it face-up in defense mode. A humanlike green and brown dragon clad in mail made of leather and chain appeared before her. Unlike the previous dragon he bore two swords instead of one and a shield, and he crossed the two in front of himself in a defensive stance. As she shuffled her deck Sumiko called to her opponent. "Is your turn over?"  
"Sure, I'll end." He gave her a thumbs-up. "Sorry about scaring you earlier."  
She nodded and put her deck back in its slot as her soft lips turned up into a vicious smirk. 'It's your turn to be scared, little fool.' Her eyes sparkled when she drew a second Blessed Rain. She glanced from her hand to her opponent. 'Hmm. Should I play them now, or wait for him to use a healing card first?'  
Jonouchi scratched his nose.  
'Pheh,' she thought, deciding. 'He's not smart enough to have something like 'Goddess of Healing' in his deck. His type is all about brutal attacks. So then...'  
Sumiko smiled sweetly at the boy, her sapphire blue eyes sparkling. "I will now play one of my favorite spell cards—Blessed Rain!" She set the spell in the slot beside her set trap. The green card appeared on the field, standing impossibly on its end. As the imaging system simulated a gentle rain falling onto the field the duelist spoke again, explaining the card's effect. "This spell boosts both of our Life Points by one thousand." Small sprouts grew on the virtual field as the clouds parted and Jonouchi glanced down at his Life Point display to confirm the girl's statement.  
{Huh? What's she up to?} Yugi watched the wonderful hologram, confused.  
Yami could only shake his head. [I don't know either.]  
{Whatever it is, she's got to have some kind of plan.}  
His other half agreed silently.  
Jou's eyes narrowed as his Points remained constant while the tiny display of hers above them rolled upwards. "Hey, what gives? You said it boosts both of our Life Points! Mine did nothing!" He turned to look at his opponent suspiciously.  
A smug grin appeared on her lips. "Simple. That spell triggered my trap." She flipped the card over on her disk, causing the image to flip up and reveal its image of a shivering woman surrounded by shimmering, vicious- looking ghosts. "Behold 'Simochi Allergy'! It turns increases to my opponent's Life Points to decreases!"  
[So *that's* it,] Yami said, knowing noone but Yugi could hear him. [She wasn't helping him at all.]  
The virtual card flashed, vanishing save the spirits that flew at Jou and surrounded him. He swiped uselessly at them as they created a smoky aura around his body. After a moment they seemed to vanish inside his form and his Life Points incremented downward by a thousand at that same moment.  
He watched his opponent sedately pull her spell card off the disk and into her graveyard. She smiled across the field at the blonde. "I'll set another card," she said as she placed her Bottomless Pit facedown where her Rain had been played, "and end my turn." The image appeared in a shimmer of light as she chuckled softly.  
Jonouchi drew and glanced as his new card. 'Bottomless Pit, eh? This'll be good.' He set the trap, and placed a monster, then spoke. "I'll set this card and put one monster facedown." His Baby Dragon and trap cards appeared as he spoke. "Armor Lizard, attack her Troop Dragon now!"  
Sumiko frowned as her second dragon was 'killed' by the beast. "Alright then," she muttered as she peeked through her deck for the third. After placing it in defense position she began shuffling her cards. Another mail-clad dragon appeared, this one with a spear and shield, and he took a stance, protecting his Mistress. "My turn now?"  
"Go ahead."  
The girl drew and her frown turned into a grin when she saw her new card. "Just what I was hoping for." Sending a smirk across the field at Jou she spoke smugly. "Your Armor Lizard is about to have a 'Change of Heart'." She played the rare card, causing the reptile to vanish and reappear on her side next to her dragon. "I don't really want to keep this ugly thing, but I certainly don't want to give it back to you. So I'll sacrifice it to place this monster in defense position." She laughed heartily at the expression on her opponent's face as she set the card she drew on her first turn.  
"That's not fair! That was MY monster!"  
Sapphire eyes sparkled as she cleared the spell card off her disk and into her graveyard. "Yes, but thanks to Change of Heart it was mine for this turn, and I could do with it as I pleased. That includes sacrificing it to strengthen my field position and weaken yours." She smirked at him smugly. "I'll end, since my Dragon isn't very powerful and I don't trust that monster you have down."  
[He's going to have to be careful,] Yami said thoughtfully. [Sumiko's better than I thought she'd be.]  
{Jonouchi's not going to roll over. He's a strong duelist.}  
'Man,' Jonouchi thought as he clenched his teeth and drew. 'I seriously underestimated this chick.' When he saw his card, however, he almost jumped around. "Al-RIGHT! Talk about lucky breaks!" He turned back to Sumiko. "First I'll flip-summon my Baby Dragon into attack mode!"  
Yugi grinned and Yami nodded at their friend as the cute orange dragon appeared, knowing what was to come. Sumiko cursed under her breath; Baby Dragon was too weak to activate her trap.  
"Next I'll summon Time Magician in attack mode!"  
Perplexed, Sumiko called across the field. "Why the hell did you do *that*?" The bright red and blue stopwatch-like monster formed as she spoke. "Time Magician has five hundred attack points!"  
Jonouchi grinned. "Don't worry, I'll show you. Time Magician! Activate!"  
There was a loud beep as the dial on the spellcaster's staff began to spin wildly. Under the intense gazes of the three teens the pointer slid round and round, landing on...  
"ALRIGHT!" Jonouchi whooped and pumped a fist in the air. The dial had stopped pointing straight up at a little tower. "Time Warp time!" "Time Magic!" intoned the small mechanical wizard as he spun around once, waving his staff over the field. While the facedown cards remained untouched, the two dragons aged rapidly, much to the surprise of Sumiko. "Meet Thousand Dragon," yelled Jonouchi triumphantly as the grandfatherly monster took a hulking step forward.  
"Interesting," spoke his opponent after a moment. "I've never seen anyone use Time Magician that way, to intentionally age their own monsters." She grinned at him. "My own dragon might have gotten a bit stronger too, but it's no match for your grown-up Baby Dragon!" Nodding her approval, she added, "That was a great move, Jonouchi-kun!"  
The blonde all but preened under the praise. "Thousand Dragon, take out her last Troop Dragon!"  
The monster roared and slashed down, destroying his adversary with ease.  
Sighing faintly, though with a smile on her lips, Sumiko pulled the card off the field as her eyes sparkled excitedly at the prospect of a challenge. "Guess it's time for me to get serious." She drew once more. "Well, shit. I can't use this right now so I'll set it alongside my trap and end," she murmured as the card shimmered into place.  
Jou drew and immediately summoned the monster. "Now I'll summon Iron Knight Gearfreed in attack mode!"  
"No you won't." Sumiko pointed a finger at him with a smirk on her lips. "I activate Bottomless Pit and remove him from the game!" Manicured fingers flipped the trap face-up.  
The boys watched in horror as the ground under Gearfreed opened with a loud, thunderous crack, sending the struggling Knight down into oblivion.  
"Okay," Jou muttered to himself. "Let's attack, then." Commandingly he spoke to his monster. "Thousand Dragon! Smash her face-down monster now!"  
Cool blue eyes watched calmly as the giant beast drew up onto its back legs and brought its front claws down onto her monster, shattering it into millions of shards of light--that reformed into a twenty-foot wall in front of her and sent Thousand Dragon flying backwards.  
"What the HELL is that?!" Jou hardly noticed his Life Points increment down by six hundred as his elderly monster slowly rose to its feet.  
"A Labyrinth Wall," Sumiko smirked. "With 3000 defense points your 2400 attack power dragon can't break it."  
Indeed, on closer inspection Jonouchi recognized the opening to the labyrinth he and Yami had once had to duel in. The giant wall of solid rock sank down into the earth so Sumiko could once more be seen. He frowned and mumbled, "I'll end."  
"What's the matter," she taunted, her left hand carefully on her hip so as not to crush her cards. "What happened to 'I came in second at Duelist Kingdom'?" Her right went to feign hiding a yawn as she tossed her head. "And here I was hoping for a challenge."  
The blond growled. "Just you wait," he promised. "On my next turn you'll be eating those words."  
"Mm, doubtful." Her voice was dismissive and arrogant as she drew a card, her lips curled in a smirk reminiscent of a certain CEO. "You won't last more than a dozen turns." She glanced at what she drew and laughed darkly. "Especially considering I just drew the next part of my favorite combo. I summon Big Bang Girl to the field!"  
As the card was set in its space the field in front of the duelist erupted into a vortex of flame. A beautiful princess in burning crimson robes emerged like a phoenix from the inferno that faded behind her. She herself was a living flame, burning but never being consumed, beautiful and horrible to behold. The sleeves of her attire were trimmed with runes embroidered in gold thread. She wore a simple diadem to show her rank, and had branch-like metal combs tucked in her hair. Two gold bracelets clicked delicately at each wrist as she brandished her staff of twisted, unburning wood. The fiery princess looked over her right shoulder at the one that called her forth, awaiting command.  
Peering around the corner of a tall, broad tree at the edge of the small park was, in absolute silence, a man wearing pure white. As the duel progressed he watched the female competitor with intense but unreadable kohled eyes shadowed by the turban on his head. Her aura had drawn him to her yet again; it was dual-natured with one side being white edged in silver and other vibrant colors in ever-changing energetic patterns, and the other was black, gold, and almost sharp at the edges. It was far too similar to a certain blond Egyptian holder of a Millennium Item's aura for Shadi to leave uninvestigated, and perhaps... unjudged.  
  
)TO BE CONTINUED(  
  
[Yugi's voice:] Next time, the duel continues as Yami Shadi and I watch from the sidelines. Wait a sec, Shadi's here? That's never a good sign. Why's he so interested in Sumiko-san? Things are started to get weird. Even for Domino City!  
  
Author Notes: Don't hurt me! I didn't want to leave off here with a cliffhanger-type deal, but the word count was getting up there, and a duel isn't exactly as fun a read as the rest of the stuff in this little fic. That, and several people have been sending me threats of bashing about the head with various objects if I didn't update at least one story by today.  
  
Sumiko's deck is based on one of my own; one of my favorites in fact. Her cards are Japanese, which is why I used their Japanese names, but the effects are the same. I like to think it's pretty obvious what's what in the American. It would have been wise to give Sumiko-chan American cards, however there was just too much room for later plotline development for me to do that. How she got her extensive collection will be explained later [and yes, there is a very good reason how she got it].  
  
The duel between Sumiko and Jou was a real duel between two actual decks. Jonouchi's deck was simulated using a random number generator, arrays, a list of cards in "Jonouchi Structure Deck 2", and much hair pulling. It was odd to do, but I'm pleased with the result. So yes, the duel was left to "the Heart of the Cards" as it were.  
  
For those that aren't keeping track, the score is 9000-6400 in Sumiko's favor.  
  
Here's a list, for those of you who didn't figure out from my hidden hints what the cards are in English, in order of their names being used:  
  
Japanese Name // American Name  
  
Blessed Rain // Rain of Mercy  
  
Simochi Allergy // Bad Reaction to Simochi  
  
Goblin Berries // Goblin's Secret Remedy  
  
Bottomless Pit // Bottomless Trap Hole  
  
Demon Hunter // Kojikocy  
  
Armor Lizard // Armored Lizard  
  
Angel's Dice // Graceful Dice  
  
Landostar Swordsman // Swordsman of Landstar  
  
Goddess of Healing - Dian Keto // Dian Keto the Curemaster  
  
Time Magician // Time Wizard  
  
Iron Knight Gearfreed // Gearfried the Iron Knight  
  
Big Bang Girl // Fire Princess 


	4. Opponent Part 2

**The Stones of Fate  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Fanfiction Series by Cosmic Jester  
Story One: The Lonely Child**  
  
  
"I summon Big Bang Girl to the field!"   
  
As the card was set in its space the field in front of the duelist erupted into a vortex of flame. A beautiful princess in burning crimson robes emerged like a phoenix from the inferno that faded behind her. She herself was a living flame, burning but never being consumed, beautiful and horrible to behold. The sleeves of her attire were trimmed with runes embroidered in gold thread. She wore a simple diadem to show her rank, and had branch-like metal combs tucked in her hair. Two gold bracelets clicked delicately at each wrist as she brandished her staff of twisted, unburning wood. The fiery princess looked over her right shoulder at the one that called her forth, awaiting command.  
  
**Chapter Four: Opponent (Part 2)**   
  
Jonouchi smirked to himself. Big Bang Girl had 1300 attack points compare to his Thousand Dragon's 2400. She was no threat. "You've got a strange dueling strategy, Sumiko. "   
  
Sapphire eyes sparkled across the dueling field at him. "That's probably the nicest way anyone's ever put it. " She slid a card from her hand into her disk. "Well, I'm going to play another 'Blessed Rain' now--and not only do you lose the thousand from the continuous trap Simochi Allergy, you lose another 500 because I increased my Life Points with Big Bang Girl on the field!" A gentle, merciful rain covered the field as the girl spoke, inciting the spirits around Jonouchi into another frenzy as the flame princess raised her staff a moment before pointing it at the attacked duelist, shooting a stream of fire from it.   
  
He winced inwardly. 3,100 of his Life Points were gone, and his opponent hadn't attacked once!   
  
Sumiko had to admit it; the duel disks added a lot of fun to the game. As she pulled the card off the field she surveyed her opponent's forces. "Big Bang Girl, attack that silly Time Magician of his."   
  
The girl nodded and ran at the monster, holding her staff like a baseball bat and pulling it back to swing at the mechanical wizard like it was a piñata. Jou's Life Points went down once more, from 4900 to 4200.   
  
The duelist glanced at her remaining card then at the Life Point counters. 'Hm, 10,000 to 4,200.' Doing some quick mental calculations she slipped the last card of her hand into a spell slot. "As the last move of my turn I play 'Goblin Berries' on myself, increasing my Life Points by 600, and my dear Princess takes away another 500 of yours."   
  
Yami frowned as the girl laughed a dark, vicious chuckle of amusement at her opponent's plight. What the hell was going on..? True, he hadn't known her that long, but Sumiko had seemed quiet and almost shy; she kept to herself unless asked something directly, and her odd yellow-green eyes were thoughtful, gentle, and intelligent.   
  
Wait. Green eyes?   
  
The duel king gazed intently at the girl across from his best friend, truly noticing for the first time by the light of her monster's blaze her eyes were a dark blue that was as hard as stone.   
  
[Ooohhhhh shit.]   
  
Yugi glanced up, startled. The spirit had spoken 'aloud', though only he himself could hear it. {What is it?} He turned back to the match as he thought at his other half. {Yeah, Sumiko's better than we thought, but...}   
  
Yami paused thoughtfully before shaking his head. [It's probably nothing.] He settled back against the pole. 'At least, I hope it's nothing.'   
  
Jou was setting the trap with a cute black shadow holding a red die (which he had drawn during the Yugis' brief conversation,) as he spoke, his honey eyes sparkling. "That Big Bang chick might have a good effect, but it's kinda stupid to leave her in attack position with Thousand Dragon on my side."   
  
Sapphire eyes glinted with a dark humor. "Is it, now?"   
  
"Of course it is." He pointed dramatically at the maiden of flames. "Thousand Dragon! Take her out!"   
  
As the elderly dragon reared up onto his back legs intending to crush the girl under the massive weight of its claws Sumiko's voice rang out. "I don't think so! Activate trap--'Mirror Force'!"   
  
Jonouchi could only watch as his pride and joy struck the ordered attack... and was enveloped in a stream of light coming from the invisible wall protecting the smaller monster before breaking apart into shards of light that fell like shimmering snow and vanished. "No! Thousand Dragon!"   
  
A cruel laugh was his opponent's response.   
  
Jonouchi's honey eyes closed. Over half of his Life Points were gone and he just lost one of the best monsters his deck could produce. After taking a moment to clear his head the blond reviewed his turn in his mind. 'Oh, right. I haven't played a monster this turn.' He glanced over his hand. 'Demon Hunter or Landostar Swordsman...?' It didn't take him long to decide and summon 'Demon Hunter' in attack position. "I end," he said as the barbarian appeared on the field, brandishing his sword.   
  
Behind the tree to the side of the duel the figure in white robes stood, silently watching this girl's dark, cruel manner. Shadi's kohled eyes were almost imperceptibly sad as the match progressed. A breeze caught the hem of his robe, causing it to sway.   
  
The duelists were too wrapped up in their match to see him, but a set of crimson eyes narrowed sharply, having noticed the Egyptian at last. The guardian's presence disturbed the former pharaoh greatly. 'Maybe I'm not being paranoid...'   
  
Sumiko glanced at the card she drew, her grin replaced by a frown as she read the name 'Double Snare'. "This is useless to me right now." After a quick survey of the field and of her options she gave Big Bang Girl a ninety-degree turn on her disk. "Since Mirror Force was the last of the defensive traps I had laid I'll put my dear princess into defense mode to protect my Life Points then end my turn." As her mistress spoke the duel monster brought her staff up protectively in front of her body, kneeling down so the length of it would protect her.   
  
Yugi shook his head. "C'mon, Jou," he murmered.   
  
His darker half shook his head. [He's got a chance. Remember, Labyrinth Wall has amazing defense power but absolutely no attack.]   
  
Seeing where Yami was going with his comment Yugi nodded. {But can he draw it?}   
  
[Look at his face. He already has it.]   
  
Indeed, as Jonouchi drew his gaze turned to his hand as a grin formed once more on his lips. "I've got it now. How I'm gonna clear the field of both your Big Bang Girl and your stupid Wall in one turn!"   
  
Sumiko scoffed. "Now *this* I've got to see."   
  
"Just wait." Jou grinned and played the only monster in his hand. "I'll summon Landostar Swordsman in attack mode."   
  
His opponent sneered. "My Wall and I cower before your 500 attack points."   
  
He met her sarcasm with a triumphant smile. "And now..." He picked a card out of his hand and played it in a magic field. "I play the spell 'Shield and Sword'!"   
  
The blue-eyed duelist scowled. "Damn! That card swaps the attack and defense of all monsters on the field! That means-"   
  
"That's right! Your Wall just became a monster with zero defense points, while Landostar Swordsman's attack goes up to 1200!" and give him the equip card I just drew--Blade of Lightning!" As his tiny warrior struggled with the large blade Jou watched its attack points rise. "That boosts his attack to 2000!"   
  
"Argh!" Sumiko's fist clenched. 'This can't be happening...' She gazed in disbelief at the tiny swordsman struggling to heft the large sword.   
  
"Okay! Swordsman! Attack Big Bang Girl! 1300 defense is nothin' ta ya now!"   
  
The feminine monster's mouth opened in a silent scream as the little warrior's slash tore through her body before melting into shards of light.   
  
"No! Princess!" The duelist pounded her right fist downward. "Dammit!" She cleared the card from her disk, reluctantly slipping the monster into her graveyard.   
  
With a broad grin the blond continued his onslaught. "Alright! Now Demon Hunter, take out the Labyrinth Wall!"   
  
The barbarian bolted towards his master's opponent, whose rock monster came forth from the ground to defend her. The warrior's blade sliced through the wall of stone, causing it to crumble into dust that faded into nothingness.   
  
There was a pause before Sumiko pulled her last defense monster off the field. She spoke as she did so, in a cold, dangerous tone. "You realize, of course, this means I'm going to have to quit playing around."   
  
"Yeah, whatever." Jou waved at her dismissively; his confidence was rising. After all, he'd just defeated what seemed to be her strongest defense and he hadn't even gotten to Psycho Shocker or Red Eyes yet. "I'll end my turn." As he spoke the attack and defense points of both of his monsters returned to normal.   
  
Sumiko's eyes closed as she focused. 'I can do this. There are at least three cards in my deck that will save me this instant. I just have to draw one.' Her right hand moved to hover over her deck. 'Concentrate on the card I need, and draw it.'   
  
'The suspense is killing me!'   
  
The girl's expression darkened further as the thought came unbidden. 'Shut up, you!' The sapphire on her ring seemed to flash in the moonlight briefly as she stamped down that inner voice before she settled in to duel once more.   
  
Shadi's eyes narrowed. There had just been a surge of shadow-like energy from the girl. Not simple ordinary Shadow power, either. The energy had an almost ice-cold feeling to it. A glance at Yugi's ghostly other half showed he was not alone in sensing it. The two locked eyes for a moment before they both nodded. The Egyptian turned and walked away, his decision made.   
  
The girl in question quieted her mind, took a deep breath, and pulled the first card her fingers touched. Dark blue eyes opened and her smirk returned as she peered at the image. "Oo, now this should be interesting."   
  
Yugi groaned inwardly. Any time she got that look on her face the round had ended poorly for his best friend. {I wonder what she's got planned now?}   
  
Sumiko slipped the card she drew down into a spell slot. "I play 'The Shallow Grave'!" She pulled her graveyard out of its place and continued. "This allows us both to choose one monster in our graveyards and special summon it in face-down defense position."   
  
When there was no answer, or even acknowledgement, violet eyes turned to gaze at the 'empty' space beside him as Jou surveyed his graveyard. {Oi, Yami?}   
  
The former Pharaoh started out of his thoughts. [Yes?]   
  
{What's the matter? Aren't you having fun watching the duel?}   
  
Yami considered his answer before speaking. [Yugi, I just saw Shadi. He was watching the duel like there was something more than a date on the line.]   
  
The blond duelist slapped a monster face down, as he had been told to do. "I guess you got your 'Labyrinth Wall' back."   
  
{What do you mean?}   
  
"Maaaay~be," she caroled. "That does it for my turn, since I'm top-decking it."   
  
Confusion filled her opponent's expression almost comically. "Top-decking? Whas'sat?"   
  
Sumiko chuckled amusedly. "It means I have no hand and very little on the field to work with, so I have to buy myself time with what I draw from the top of my deck. Top-decking."   
  
[For a moment she practically radiated Shadow magic.]   
  
{Shadow magic?!}   
  
"Oh, okay." Jonouchi took a deep breath and closed his eyes. 'Okay. Keep it together, Jou. Just trust in yourself and your deck like Yugi taught ya. You can come back from this.' He drew and let his breath out before opening his eyes that immediately widened as his grin reappeared. "Alright! Go 'heart of the cards'!" He swiped the face down card off his monster slot. "I'll sacrifice my Armor Lizard to bring out the 'Android Psycho Shocker'!"   
  
[But not just that. It was... It was evil.]   
  
"Android Psycho Shocker?!" Girlish excitement momentarily overcame the jade-eyed duelist. "How on earth did you get it? It's really really rare!"   
  
"Remember how we were tellin' you about the Battle City Tournament?" Seeing her nod the blond continued. "The winner of each duel got to pick a card out of the loser's deck to keep."   
  
Her hand moved to her lips in horror. "That's awful!" She shook her head. "There's no way I could part with any of my cards, they're far too much a part of me. I've put my heart into my deck."   
  
{Evil?} Yugi gazed at the young girl confusedly. {How can Sumiko-san be evil? And how can she have Shadow magic without an Item..?}   
  
"Now your precious 'Simochi Allergy' can't touch me because of Psycho Shocker's effect," Jou smugly stated. "All traps are negated. But I'm guessin' you got that damn Wall back from that Shallow Grave spell, so it'd be pointless to attack." He gave her a thumbs-up to let her know he ended. "At least I'm protected from your direct spells."   
  
[I don't know, aibou, but I certainly intend to find out.]   
  
"That little bit of protection won't do you much good." She rested two fingers on her deck and tugged the top card free. Her eyes, once more cold sapphire hues, surveyed the level four monster she had just drawn. 'A 'Spirit Dragon', huh? I don't have any other dragons to sacrifice to boost its power, and my Labyrinth is the only defense I need right now. If nothing else I should wait until I get more dragons in my hand and then use Double Snare to get rid of his damned Android so it can attack the Swordsman. On the other hand,' she debated mentally, 'who knows what he's got up his sleeve. He might have another damned Shield and Sword.' Out loud she said, "I'll set this monster in face-down defense mode then end my turn."   
  
A glance at the Life Point count on his duel disk display showed Jou his 3700 Points in large numbers, his opponent's 10600 declaimed in smaller print above it. 'Man, I'm gettin' my butt kicked here. I've gotta get rid of her face-down monsters so I can get some direct attacks in.' A quick flick of his wrist brought his next card into his sight. "Oh yeah!"   
  
As their friend cheered a single sweat drop formed on both Yugi and Yami's foreheads despite the seriousness of their conversation. {We need to talk to him about his game face.}   
  
[Or lack thereof?]   
  
{Something like that.} Yugi gave a small mental chuckle through his worry. {One thing's for certain, though. Sumiko's game face is scary.}   
  
The girl in question had a deep frown, her narrowed blue eyes as hard and cold as ice. "Are we here to duel, or are you just going to prance around like a moron all night?"   
  
Jonouchi cringed before pointing at her. "I'm here to duel, and I'm here to win that duel."   
  
"Big words from a little man."   
  
"You'll eat those words when I play this! I summon Severing Samurai in attack mode!"   
  
A small whirlwind of light on the field revealed a small figure even tinier than the Landostar Swordsman. It was humanoid, though with a head that was a perfect orange sphere with no nose or mouth. A warrior's topknot made out of three kunai knives stuck out of the back of his head and a full set of green samurai armor covered his body. The gloves and guards were brown leather reinforced by steel. Impossibly pale blue eyes narrowed as the little samurai drew his katana while shifting in his zori sandals, waiting eagerly for the order to attack.   
  
There was a small pause as Sumiko frowned. "Alright, then. Which card does he attack?"   
  
Yugi tipped his head. "You know what Severing Samurai does, Sumiko-san?"   
  
"I'd better, I've got three of the things."   
  
The blond nodded. "Well, since I still think you've got that Labyrinth Wall down I'm gonna have 'im attack the card you just set."   
  
Sumiko shrugged almost boredly as the tiny samurai of doom slashed its sword through her face down card, which flashed a small deep indigo dragon before splintering into snowy light. "Severing Samurai destroys any face down defense position monster it attacks without flipping them face up or damage calculation."   
  
As calm as she was outwardly she chanted a mantra deep inside her mind. 'Shit shit shit shit.' She pulled her card off its space and into her graveyard.   
  
At Jonouchi's signal that he was done she rested two fingertips lightly on her deck, her eyes closing before she pulled her next card, holding it parallel to the ground for a moment. 'C'mon deck, show me some love.' Her dark eyes opened as she brought the card in to read.   
  
And smirked.  
  
)TO BE CONTINUED(   
  
  
  
[Yugi's voice:] Next time, the duel is over and Sumiko-san is back to normal. Does she have a dark half like me, Bakura, and Malik? And how did she get Shadow power? It seems like the more questions that are answered the more appear! See you next time, for Opponent Part 3!  
  
  
  
Author's note: Another cliffhanger.... Don't kill me! It wasn't my intention to, but I wanted to update reeeeally badly and this is already about 3000 words. C'mon, show Jester love for updating. ...please?  
  
  
  
Here's a list, for those of you who didn't figure out from my hidden hints what the cards are in English, in order of their appearance in this part of "Opponent":   
  
Japanese Name // American Name   
  
Big Bang Girl // Fire Princess   
  
Blessed Rain // Rain of Mercy   
  
Simochi Allergy // Bad Reaction to Simochi   
  
Time Magician // Time Wizard   
  
Goblin Berries // Goblin's Secret Remedy   
  
Demon's Dice // Skull Dice   
  
Demon Hunter // Kojikocy   
  
Landostar Swordsman // Swordsman of Landstar   
  
Blade of Lightning // Lightning Blade   
  
Spirit Dragon // Spirit Ryuu   
  
Severing Samurai // Sasuke Samurai 


End file.
